Drive

I cannot help comparing this film to the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. This is especially because they use dark tones in the background, while the color white predominates in the costumes of the protagonist and the title is in contrast with the color pink. So you may say this is new in the world of cinema, but someone who has played one game in the series will find it somehow familiar, like a copy or, better, a film inspired by the game.

The funny moments are surprising, because they relax the tension that is going on. However, this tension breaker moments end up being too few and tooshort. From this perspective, I would say this film is visually heavy because of those shots focused on facial expressions and the continued absence of dialogues.

The first fifteen minutes undoubtedly represent the best sequence of the film. Director Nicolas Winding Refn deserved the nomination because he handled the suspense in such a smart and classic way. The use of the first person view makes us feel that we are in the car: this made me understand that the director is a player of this kind of videogames.

The rhythm of the film varies as the plot progresses. The story is about the mafia, though interpreted from another angle than the usual. Probably the brutal murder and fights scenes are the ones that mostly turn it in to an interesting film. Great rivers of blood, disfigurement and shocks are transmitted strongly, but in some circumstances they are accompanied by a sentimental touch.

The script becomes too serious after the amazing opening sequence: we know the protagonist and we see how he relates to a woman which accidentally diverts him from his destiny in a terrible way.

Interesting to see someone who looks for the path of happiness and ends up in such a macabre one. As always, everything relies on our bad decisions. It is an intense adventure, worth watching, because it is artistic in its own way.

Director: Nicolas Winding Refn

Writers: Hossein Amini (screenplay), James Sallis (book)

Stars: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan and Bryan Cranston